We started introducing Yiu Yiu to the potty several weeks by asking her to let us know when she wants to mmpphh mmpphh. She's pretty fascinated by the potty and over the last few weeks, she'll simply say mmpphh mmpphh for the fun of sitting on the potty. Nevertheless, each time she indicated mmpphh mmpphh, we'd just take off her diapers and let her sit on the potty even though we were sure she wasn't going to poo.
Last weekend, when she felt the urge to pass motion, she indicated mmpphh mmpphh to hubby, who quickly took out the potty. She sat on it and quietly completed her business there. We were pretty surprised and happy that she finally managed to use the potty successfully. Even though this is a long way from being fully potty trained, it is a small step to success.
April 30, 2007
April 25, 2007
Travelling and breastfeeding
I don't classify myself as a frequent traveler but all the same, I've traveled quite a bit throughout these 15 months of exclusively nursing Yiu Yiu. My first trip was to Bangkok for six days. Yiu Yiu was only slightly more than four months then. I learnt from MMB how some moms successfully bring home expressed breast milk (EBM) while traveling and I wanted to do the same. Having trawled through the information in MMB, there were still many practical questions unanswered and I'm grateful that Suzette, the expert "cart home breast milk from overseas mom", gave me lots of tips and encouragement. That first trip to Bangkok, I managed to cart home almost 150oz of EBM.
Since then, I've been to short few days trip to Seoul, Cebu, Singapore, Hong Kong, and various domestic destinations and I'm glad to say that I successfully brought home EBM each time. This contributed to me successfully breastfed Yiu Yiu exclusively for 15 months as these EBM replenished the depleted stocks in my freezer.
This is an account on how I expressed while traveling. Hopefully someone will find this useful and will help them to do the same.
Things I normally bring
• Breast pump and bottle
• Breast milk storage bags (I used cheap ice-cream tube bags instead of those expensive milk storage bags)
• Accessories for labeling (I used marker pen, scissors and sticker labels)
• Sterilizing tablets (I find this easiest to do. Sometimes if the hotel jug kettle is big enough, I'd sterilize by boiling inside the kettle)
• Containers to keep EBM upright in freezer/fridge (I used those transparent plastic bags that hawkers use for take aways. Keep about 6-8 tubes of EBM upright)
• Small cooler box & soft cooler bag (depending on the volume you expect to cart home. From experience, if you plan to bring home frozen EBM, it's best to keep in cooler box as those soft cooler bags are not as well insulated and frozen EBM can thaw)
• Hand carry traveling bag to put in both cooler box and bag (I normally do this to avoid having to carry too many bags)
• Techni Ice sheets (2 large sheets cut into 4 smaller pieces - 2 pieces each for the cooler box and cooler bag)
• Thick towels
What to bring home – frozen or chilled EBM?
My first trip to Bangkok, I brought back frozen EBM and those kept in the soft cooler bag had thawed by the time I reached home. I ended up throwing quite a bit away as Yiu Yiu couldn't consume all those thawed EBM within 2 days (yup...I kept for 2 days instead of the recommended 24 hours). That was a painful experience as each single drop of breast milk is to me, too precious to waste and here I was throwing loads away. Subsequently I brought home only chilled EBM if my trips were 5 days or less. This meant that by the time Yiu Yiu consumed the chilled EBM, it would be about 6-7 days old. The general recommendation is to keep chilled EBM only for 48-72 hours but I've kept chilled EBM for up to a week and Yiu Yiu was fine with them. It really depends on your comfort level. I'd normally just keep the EBM chilled in the hotel room minibar and would get the concierge to freeze the Techni Ice sheets for me. In my trip to Cebu, my Techni Ice sheets were not completely frozen so most of my chilled EBM turned bad after the 12-hour journey home. Another terrible experience, but another learnt so subsequently I made sure I spoke to someone who understood English well to ensure my request was completely understood.
Sterilizing the breast pump while traveling
Most times, I used sterilizing tablet and soak the pump & accessories in the small cooler box.
Transporting the EBM from foreign country back to home
Before checking out, I'd line the cooler box with Techni Ice sheets, followed by a thick cloth towel around the ice sheets, before putting in the chilled EBM. I then cover the EBM with another layer of thick towel and add more ice on top of the towel to fill in the space. The ice can be easily obtained from housekeeping/restaurant.
I carried the cooler box and soft cooler bag as hand luggage. This way, I could remove the ice water and add more ice to the box while flying. But with the additional security measures, some airlines may not allow EBM to be carried on board.
I would normally check in my entire luggage and carried only the traveling bag with EBM, and my laptop backpack on board. Most of my colleagues and customers whom I traveled with frequently knew what's inside my hand luggage. Now that I'm no longer expressing, can't say I missed lugging all those things on my trips!
Since then, I've been to short few days trip to Seoul, Cebu, Singapore, Hong Kong, and various domestic destinations and I'm glad to say that I successfully brought home EBM each time. This contributed to me successfully breastfed Yiu Yiu exclusively for 15 months as these EBM replenished the depleted stocks in my freezer.
This is an account on how I expressed while traveling. Hopefully someone will find this useful and will help them to do the same.
Things I normally bring
• Breast pump and bottle
• Breast milk storage bags (I used cheap ice-cream tube bags instead of those expensive milk storage bags)
• Accessories for labeling (I used marker pen, scissors and sticker labels)
• Sterilizing tablets (I find this easiest to do. Sometimes if the hotel jug kettle is big enough, I'd sterilize by boiling inside the kettle)
• Containers to keep EBM upright in freezer/fridge (I used those transparent plastic bags that hawkers use for take aways. Keep about 6-8 tubes of EBM upright)
• Small cooler box & soft cooler bag (depending on the volume you expect to cart home. From experience, if you plan to bring home frozen EBM, it's best to keep in cooler box as those soft cooler bags are not as well insulated and frozen EBM can thaw)
• Hand carry traveling bag to put in both cooler box and bag (I normally do this to avoid having to carry too many bags)
• Techni Ice sheets (2 large sheets cut into 4 smaller pieces - 2 pieces each for the cooler box and cooler bag)
• Thick towels
What to bring home – frozen or chilled EBM?
My first trip to Bangkok, I brought back frozen EBM and those kept in the soft cooler bag had thawed by the time I reached home. I ended up throwing quite a bit away as Yiu Yiu couldn't consume all those thawed EBM within 2 days (yup...I kept for 2 days instead of the recommended 24 hours). That was a painful experience as each single drop of breast milk is to me, too precious to waste and here I was throwing loads away. Subsequently I brought home only chilled EBM if my trips were 5 days or less. This meant that by the time Yiu Yiu consumed the chilled EBM, it would be about 6-7 days old. The general recommendation is to keep chilled EBM only for 48-72 hours but I've kept chilled EBM for up to a week and Yiu Yiu was fine with them. It really depends on your comfort level. I'd normally just keep the EBM chilled in the hotel room minibar and would get the concierge to freeze the Techni Ice sheets for me. In my trip to Cebu, my Techni Ice sheets were not completely frozen so most of my chilled EBM turned bad after the 12-hour journey home. Another terrible experience, but another learnt so subsequently I made sure I spoke to someone who understood English well to ensure my request was completely understood.
Sterilizing the breast pump while traveling
Most times, I used sterilizing tablet and soak the pump & accessories in the small cooler box.
Transporting the EBM from foreign country back to home
Before checking out, I'd line the cooler box with Techni Ice sheets, followed by a thick cloth towel around the ice sheets, before putting in the chilled EBM. I then cover the EBM with another layer of thick towel and add more ice on top of the towel to fill in the space. The ice can be easily obtained from housekeeping/restaurant.
I carried the cooler box and soft cooler bag as hand luggage. This way, I could remove the ice water and add more ice to the box while flying. But with the additional security measures, some airlines may not allow EBM to be carried on board.
I would normally check in my entire luggage and carried only the traveling bag with EBM, and my laptop backpack on board. Most of my colleagues and customers whom I traveled with frequently knew what's inside my hand luggage. Now that I'm no longer expressing, can't say I missed lugging all those things on my trips!
April 23, 2007
Connected, at long last!
For the longest time, I've wanted to install broadband at home. We didn't have a phone line at our old apartment and since we were moving, we decided not to pursue the idea till we moved to the new house. Not having internet connection at home was a major inconvenience, as I had to stay in office late to surf and blog. With the limited time I have to go online, coupled with my extremely heavy workload lately, I've not been able to go online as much as I'd like to.
I was considering whether to install Streamyx or the recently introduced Maxis broadband service. As I wasn’t sure of the stability of the new service from Maxis, I finally decided to stick to the conventional Streamyx and visited TMpoint office at Damansara Utama last month. To my disappointment, I was informed that my house has not been updated in their system and as such, I couldn't apply for a phone line, a pre-requisite for Streamyx. This was a major surprise to me as I knew very well some of my neighbours in the same row already have a phone line. The lady at the counter offered to help me to log a case to register my house in their system but was not able to tell when this could be done.
I was on leave that day and headed to 1-Utama to do some shopping and bumped into a friend. When I told her about my predicament at TMpoint earlier, she encouraged me to go for Maxis as she was having a lot of problem with Streamyx. As luck would have it, there's a Maxis service centre at 1-Utama and there's a promotion whereby the deposit, registration and installation fees, would be waived. I went ahead and registered, and opted for the basic 3G package which offers unlimited monthly access at 384kbps for RM68, inclusive of modem rental.
Yesterday, almost 4 weeks after I registered, I've got Maxis broadband installed at home. Hopefully, I can go online more frequently now.
I was considering whether to install Streamyx or the recently introduced Maxis broadband service. As I wasn’t sure of the stability of the new service from Maxis, I finally decided to stick to the conventional Streamyx and visited TMpoint office at Damansara Utama last month. To my disappointment, I was informed that my house has not been updated in their system and as such, I couldn't apply for a phone line, a pre-requisite for Streamyx. This was a major surprise to me as I knew very well some of my neighbours in the same row already have a phone line. The lady at the counter offered to help me to log a case to register my house in their system but was not able to tell when this could be done.
I was on leave that day and headed to 1-Utama to do some shopping and bumped into a friend. When I told her about my predicament at TMpoint earlier, she encouraged me to go for Maxis as she was having a lot of problem with Streamyx. As luck would have it, there's a Maxis service centre at 1-Utama and there's a promotion whereby the deposit, registration and installation fees, would be waived. I went ahead and registered, and opted for the basic 3G package which offers unlimited monthly access at 384kbps for RM68, inclusive of modem rental.
Yesterday, almost 4 weeks after I registered, I've got Maxis broadband installed at home. Hopefully, I can go online more frequently now.
April 06, 2007
My breastfeeding journey
When I was pregnant, I knew that I wanted to breastfeed my baby. I was aware of the goodness of breast milk and was determined to give the best to my baby. I knew it was not going to be easy but I didn't really read up a lot to prepare for it, which was just as well as I was blissfully ignorant of the possibility of blocked ducts, mastitis and other potential problems. I didn't even prepare any formula milk as I has simply assumed that my milk would just come and I'd be able to breastfeed successfully, just as nature intended.
The first couple of days were the most difficult. Yiu Yiu was struggling to latch on and kept crying in frustration when she couldn't. As we struggled to establish nursing and she didn't get much for the first two days, I started to worry if she'd be starved even though my gynae and paediatrician kept reassuring me that she'd be alright. On the third day, she developed jaundice and since she was lethargic, she nursed even less. I was told that she needed more fluid in her body to help flush out the bilirubin and as she wasn't nursing well, I finally succumbed and asked the nurse to spoon feed her some formula. The next morning, I was reprimanded by my gynae when he found out and told me that they would know if she needed supplemental feeding as her blood glucose level was monitored daily.
After that incidence, I resolved to keep her off formula as advised. My milk finally came on the third day and I was so thrilled when I could express 2oz from both breasts using the hospital pump. Not a lot, but enough for a tiny baby's intake. I could be discharged from the hospital already but as my breast pump was in Ipoh (I was going to have my confinement in my parents' home in Ipoh) and I couldn't express at home, I decided to stay put in the hospital. Paying RM195 a night for another three nights wasn't exactly what we had planned but I was determined to breast feed my baby successfully.
It has not been an easy journey, as any breastfeeding mother can relate:
• the endless hours of sucking in the early weeks, where she'd spent one hour sucking and the moment I tried to unlatch her after foolishly thinking she was asleep, she would be wide awake and screaming for more.
• the endless interrupted nights as I am not among the lucky few whose baby slept through the night after several weeks or months. At 17 months now, she still wakes up at night but at least I've mastered the skills of nursing lying down so when she wakes up, I'll just carry her from her cot to our bed and let her nurse while I continue to sleep. So much for training baby to sleep on her own!
• the endless hours spent expressing milk at home and at work, and feeling that I was compromising my work. I used to express three times daily – once in the morning before going to work, once at about 2pm and another time after work at about 7pm. Luckily Yiu Yiu is not that big an eater and my three pumping sessions produced enough to meet her needs, with some to spare for freezing to be used when I traveled. Since she started on solids at six months and her demand decreased, I gradually cut out the expressing session in office.
• worrying endlessly whenever my supply dropped and did not express enough for her next day's feed. During these times, I would busy myself cooking numerous soups that supposedly enhance breast milk production. Among those I've tried are green papaya soup with fish, white radish soup, cashew nut soup and fenugreek tea.
• the countless times she chomped on my nipples to soothe her itching, teething gums.
• the countless times I've become her pacifier. Sometimes she just wants to suckle for comfort and she'll be hanging onto my breasts just for the fun of it. I enjoy these bonding sessions with her and I'll tickle/sing/talk to her while she suckles but there are also times when I wished she wouldn't spend so much time at the breasts, leaving me with no time on my own. Wicked mom but hey, I'm only human after all.
Now that she's only nursing whenever I'm around and on formula at other times, I think she's suckling mainly for comfort as I don't think she gets much from the breasts. I know she probably should be weaned off soon but I'm not sure if she's ready. I definitely am not!
The first couple of days were the most difficult. Yiu Yiu was struggling to latch on and kept crying in frustration when she couldn't. As we struggled to establish nursing and she didn't get much for the first two days, I started to worry if she'd be starved even though my gynae and paediatrician kept reassuring me that she'd be alright. On the third day, she developed jaundice and since she was lethargic, she nursed even less. I was told that she needed more fluid in her body to help flush out the bilirubin and as she wasn't nursing well, I finally succumbed and asked the nurse to spoon feed her some formula. The next morning, I was reprimanded by my gynae when he found out and told me that they would know if she needed supplemental feeding as her blood glucose level was monitored daily.
After that incidence, I resolved to keep her off formula as advised. My milk finally came on the third day and I was so thrilled when I could express 2oz from both breasts using the hospital pump. Not a lot, but enough for a tiny baby's intake. I could be discharged from the hospital already but as my breast pump was in Ipoh (I was going to have my confinement in my parents' home in Ipoh) and I couldn't express at home, I decided to stay put in the hospital. Paying RM195 a night for another three nights wasn't exactly what we had planned but I was determined to breast feed my baby successfully.
It has not been an easy journey, as any breastfeeding mother can relate:
• the endless hours of sucking in the early weeks, where she'd spent one hour sucking and the moment I tried to unlatch her after foolishly thinking she was asleep, she would be wide awake and screaming for more.
• the endless interrupted nights as I am not among the lucky few whose baby slept through the night after several weeks or months. At 17 months now, she still wakes up at night but at least I've mastered the skills of nursing lying down so when she wakes up, I'll just carry her from her cot to our bed and let her nurse while I continue to sleep. So much for training baby to sleep on her own!
• the endless hours spent expressing milk at home and at work, and feeling that I was compromising my work. I used to express three times daily – once in the morning before going to work, once at about 2pm and another time after work at about 7pm. Luckily Yiu Yiu is not that big an eater and my three pumping sessions produced enough to meet her needs, with some to spare for freezing to be used when I traveled. Since she started on solids at six months and her demand decreased, I gradually cut out the expressing session in office.
• worrying endlessly whenever my supply dropped and did not express enough for her next day's feed. During these times, I would busy myself cooking numerous soups that supposedly enhance breast milk production. Among those I've tried are green papaya soup with fish, white radish soup, cashew nut soup and fenugreek tea.
• the countless times she chomped on my nipples to soothe her itching, teething gums.
• the countless times I've become her pacifier. Sometimes she just wants to suckle for comfort and she'll be hanging onto my breasts just for the fun of it. I enjoy these bonding sessions with her and I'll tickle/sing/talk to her while she suckles but there are also times when I wished she wouldn't spend so much time at the breasts, leaving me with no time on my own. Wicked mom but hey, I'm only human after all.
Now that she's only nursing whenever I'm around and on formula at other times, I think she's suckling mainly for comfort as I don't think she gets much from the breasts. I know she probably should be weaned off soon but I'm not sure if she's ready. I definitely am not!
April 05, 2007
From exclusive to mixed feeding
The last few months, my production has really dropped and I've had to resort to using my freezer stash to supplement Yiu Yiu's daily intake. As I was to be away in the USA for two weeks and my stash in the freezer would not last two weeks, I started asking the babysitter to introduce her to formula in February. I got samples of formula from different companies and asked her to experiment to see which brand my little princess will agree to. The first time she tried, she mixed ½ formula and ½ breast milk to help Yiu Yiu get used to the taste, which according to other moms, doesn’t taste nice at all, what with a metallic aftertaste! True enough she rejected the feed. Babysitter then extended the time for her next feed and perhaps due to hunger, she finished the feed this time. As I had also been busy and neglected to express most days, whatever little I brought to the babysitter's place was insufficient for her daily intake, so that’s plenty of opportunities for her to experiment with formula milk. Gradually she took to taking a full feed of formula without complaints, so I needn't have to worry about her going hungry while I was away.
I brought my pump along with me to the USA and was planning to keep expressing to maintain supply but as the yield got lesser and lesser by the day, I totally stopped expressing after about 10 days. I did worry whether my supply would dry up completely by the time I returned but I comforted myself with the fact that at least Yiu Yiu was on breast milk exclusively for 15 months.
Upon my return, Yiu Yiu still remembered to ask for nen-nen. The first time I put her to my breast, she suckled and immediately pulled away, with a confused look on her face. It's as if she tasted something horrible. She then turned away and refused to nurse anymore. Some time later, she pointed to the breast once more and said nen-nen, but yet again, she responded the same way. The hesitancy continued and I felt really sad, though the rational side of me told me that I should take this opportunity to wean her. I was having this internal tug of war but I eventually succumbed to the emotional side and continued offering her the breasts. I finally understood why some moms said weaning is traumatic for the mother as much as it is for the child. Anyhow, on the third day, she finally accepted the breasts again and has been happily suckling away whenever I'm around at night and during weekends.
I brought my pump along with me to the USA and was planning to keep expressing to maintain supply but as the yield got lesser and lesser by the day, I totally stopped expressing after about 10 days. I did worry whether my supply would dry up completely by the time I returned but I comforted myself with the fact that at least Yiu Yiu was on breast milk exclusively for 15 months.
Upon my return, Yiu Yiu still remembered to ask for nen-nen. The first time I put her to my breast, she suckled and immediately pulled away, with a confused look on her face. It's as if she tasted something horrible. She then turned away and refused to nurse anymore. Some time later, she pointed to the breast once more and said nen-nen, but yet again, she responded the same way. The hesitancy continued and I felt really sad, though the rational side of me told me that I should take this opportunity to wean her. I was having this internal tug of war but I eventually succumbed to the emotional side and continued offering her the breasts. I finally understood why some moms said weaning is traumatic for the mother as much as it is for the child. Anyhow, on the third day, she finally accepted the breasts again and has been happily suckling away whenever I'm around at night and during weekends.
April 04, 2007
17-month old
I promised I'll write about my recent trip to the US but I have been really bogged down by work ever since I came back. I've had absolutely no respite at which I can put my thoughts and photos together so I guess the account of my trip will have to wait just a little longer. But I've got to jump start my writing again, so Yiu Yiu turning 17 months is just the right impetus to do so. So here's an update of her development:
Physical: We've not weighed her since January so I have absolutely no idea how heavy she is right now. But when we were back in Kuantan last weekend for Ching Ming, my sister-in-law commented that she looked visibly more "meaty". She has four teeth on both her upper and lower gums. Unfortunately, I've not started her on the habit of brushing teeth so I hope I'm not too late. We've just bought her a training toothbrush last weekend so will have to start getting her used to brushing.
Mobility: She can walk steadily now; in fact she's developing a knack for running. Ironically, instead of refusing to let us hold her hands while we are out, now she likes both mummy and papa to hold her hands, one on each side. She also likes to perform head tumble on the mattress.
Comprehension: She can comprehend even complex sentences and understand the concept of cause and effect. Since she's still such a boob addict, sometimes when we are out and she wants to nurse and points to my breasts, I'll say "We are outside now, no place for nen-nen. Mummy gives you nen-nen when we are in the car, OK?" She'll simply nod her head with an emphatic "Mmpph" and wait to claim her reward when we are back in the car. Whenever she hears any mobile phone rings or the alert tone of an incoming SMS, she'll draw our attention by calling out "Papa". Funnily enough she thinks all the phone calls are for her papa. She's getting better at letting us know her needs: asking for more milk by handing to us her empty bottle, pointing in the direction of the cupboard where her diapers are kept if she needs changing.
Language: Her recent vocabulary includes (in Cantonese or Mandarin) oi (want), moi (don't want), ye ye (paternal grandfather), ma ma (paternal grandmother), gu gu (aunt, hubby's sister), jiu jiu (uncle, my brother), yi yi (aunt, my sisters), che che (big sister), ko ko (big brother), xie xie (thank you). In fact, she can repeat most single syllable words we teach her such as ball, shoes, horse, bath.
Feeding: She still insists on having her own set of bowl and spoon whenever we eat. She can self-feed quite OK now with morsels of food dropping here and there. So most times when we eat, we'll just fill her bowl with some food and let her practise self-feeding. She still uses her hand to pick up pieces of food from her bowl whenever she gets frustrated with not being able to scoop any with her spoon. Luckily her appetite had improved in the last month and she can at least finish three-quarters of what I intend to feed her.
Social: She is sociable and extremely pleased when she has other children for company, be it her cousins or the neighbour's daughter. She doesn't mind sharing her toys with other children so I hope she'll grow up to become a generous child. She knows she's loved and she'll try to manja (Malay…) at every opportunity. Last weekend while in Kuantan, she's got a red mark on her right arm from an insect bite. We were chatting in the living room and she cruised from person to person to show each of us the bite mark and expect everyone to sayang (love in Malay) her arm. She also knows how to reciprocate by tenderly stroking mummy's and papa's cheeks when we ask her to sayang us.
This & That: We bought her a children table and chair set and some colour pencils. Her early fascination with these new gadgets includes inserting the colour pencils into the nooks of the table. When she's in the mood for drawing, she'll scribble loopy pictures on the stack of recycled papers that papa put together. And she'll insist that either mummy or papa sits next to her and draws along. Papa bought her a toy motorcycle while mummy was away in the US and she loves to ride on it. She was introduced to the Barney song recently and will cross her arms to hug her body when we come to the line "With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you." She can perform simple tasks such as throwing her soiled diaper into the waste basket, and imitating the roar of a lion by holding both her hands up and hollers "Waaa!" And she's showing signs of becoming the next Imelda Marcos…she absolutely adores shoes. Whenever she steps out from the house, she'll point to the shoe cabinet and says, "Shoe shoe". And whenever we walk by the children shoes department while out shopping, she'll refuse to leave till she's dragged away. When buying her shoes, she'll refuse to take off the new pair we put on for her to try. Poor mummy and papa have to bring the empty box to the cashier for payment!
Clockwise from top left: notice the colour pencils jutting out from the table nooks, artist at work, vrooming away, her masterpiece
Clockwise from top left: hear me roar, her shoes collection, doing the Barney hug, her current favourite book
Physical: We've not weighed her since January so I have absolutely no idea how heavy she is right now. But when we were back in Kuantan last weekend for Ching Ming, my sister-in-law commented that she looked visibly more "meaty". She has four teeth on both her upper and lower gums. Unfortunately, I've not started her on the habit of brushing teeth so I hope I'm not too late. We've just bought her a training toothbrush last weekend so will have to start getting her used to brushing.
Mobility: She can walk steadily now; in fact she's developing a knack for running. Ironically, instead of refusing to let us hold her hands while we are out, now she likes both mummy and papa to hold her hands, one on each side. She also likes to perform head tumble on the mattress.
Comprehension: She can comprehend even complex sentences and understand the concept of cause and effect. Since she's still such a boob addict, sometimes when we are out and she wants to nurse and points to my breasts, I'll say "We are outside now, no place for nen-nen. Mummy gives you nen-nen when we are in the car, OK?" She'll simply nod her head with an emphatic "Mmpph" and wait to claim her reward when we are back in the car. Whenever she hears any mobile phone rings or the alert tone of an incoming SMS, she'll draw our attention by calling out "Papa". Funnily enough she thinks all the phone calls are for her papa. She's getting better at letting us know her needs: asking for more milk by handing to us her empty bottle, pointing in the direction of the cupboard where her diapers are kept if she needs changing.
Language: Her recent vocabulary includes (in Cantonese or Mandarin) oi (want), moi (don't want), ye ye (paternal grandfather), ma ma (paternal grandmother), gu gu (aunt, hubby's sister), jiu jiu (uncle, my brother), yi yi (aunt, my sisters), che che (big sister), ko ko (big brother), xie xie (thank you). In fact, she can repeat most single syllable words we teach her such as ball, shoes, horse, bath.
Feeding: She still insists on having her own set of bowl and spoon whenever we eat. She can self-feed quite OK now with morsels of food dropping here and there. So most times when we eat, we'll just fill her bowl with some food and let her practise self-feeding. She still uses her hand to pick up pieces of food from her bowl whenever she gets frustrated with not being able to scoop any with her spoon. Luckily her appetite had improved in the last month and she can at least finish three-quarters of what I intend to feed her.
Social: She is sociable and extremely pleased when she has other children for company, be it her cousins or the neighbour's daughter. She doesn't mind sharing her toys with other children so I hope she'll grow up to become a generous child. She knows she's loved and she'll try to manja (Malay…) at every opportunity. Last weekend while in Kuantan, she's got a red mark on her right arm from an insect bite. We were chatting in the living room and she cruised from person to person to show each of us the bite mark and expect everyone to sayang (love in Malay) her arm. She also knows how to reciprocate by tenderly stroking mummy's and papa's cheeks when we ask her to sayang us.
This & That: We bought her a children table and chair set and some colour pencils. Her early fascination with these new gadgets includes inserting the colour pencils into the nooks of the table. When she's in the mood for drawing, she'll scribble loopy pictures on the stack of recycled papers that papa put together. And she'll insist that either mummy or papa sits next to her and draws along. Papa bought her a toy motorcycle while mummy was away in the US and she loves to ride on it. She was introduced to the Barney song recently and will cross her arms to hug her body when we come to the line "With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you." She can perform simple tasks such as throwing her soiled diaper into the waste basket, and imitating the roar of a lion by holding both her hands up and hollers "Waaa!" And she's showing signs of becoming the next Imelda Marcos…she absolutely adores shoes. Whenever she steps out from the house, she'll point to the shoe cabinet and says, "Shoe shoe". And whenever we walk by the children shoes department while out shopping, she'll refuse to leave till she's dragged away. When buying her shoes, she'll refuse to take off the new pair we put on for her to try. Poor mummy and papa have to bring the empty box to the cashier for payment!
Clockwise from top left: notice the colour pencils jutting out from the table nooks, artist at work, vrooming away, her masterpiece
Clockwise from top left: hear me roar, her shoes collection, doing the Barney hug, her current favourite book
March 13, 2007
Back on home turf
I finally reached home after being away for two weeks. I boarded flight MH91 at Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday, 9.40pm US Eastern Time. The flight would stop over in Arlanda International Airport in Stockholm, a journey of seven hours. Dinner, or rather supper, was served shortly after take-off. I had the signature satay and lamb loin and shiitake mushroom as starters followed by shrimp skewer on lemon grass with rice as main course. The meal was nicely rounded up with chocolate timbale for dessert. Many passengers hit the sack right after dinner but it was just a short sleep as we were woken up for a simple Continental breakfast about two hours before arrival in Stockholm.
As I had some time after breakfast before arrival in Stockholm, I browsed through the inflight entertainment and found that the offerings were similar to those on the KL – LA flight. I managed to finish watching Madagascar, as well as one episode of Dharma & Greg. Shortly after, we descended into Stockholm and stopped there for about an hour.
Upon take-off, lunch was served and the starter was marinated skewered king prawns. I chose prawn and pineapple curry with rice as main course. Looks like shrimps has been a main feature of my meals for most of the flight! Dessert was by a fancy name of socher tarte, which looked and tasted like chocolate cake to me. After lunch, the plane crossed into a night time zone and I should catch some sleep as we would arrive in KL early in the morning. But since I wide awake, I caught up with some work on my laptop. As I glanced at the flight information and found that we were only six hours before arrival to KL, I quickly turned off my computer to get some rest.
My sleep was continually interrupted by the captain's announcement of fastening the seat belt every now and then as we hit turbulence, and before long, we were woken up for breakfast. I chose braised chicken with sweet chilli sauce with Chinese fried rice and stir fried mixed vegetables.
The plane touched down at KLIA on Monday, 12 March at 6.30am, 30 minutes ahead of schedule. After clearing immigration and collecting my luggage, I quickly boarded an airport limo home. Hubby was at the front door with Yiu Yiu to welcome me back but Yiu Yiu didn’t seem enthusiastic at all at seeing me. Not sure if it's because she's just woken up, or two weeks is just too long to be away from her. She seemed a little hesitant but when I extended my arms to carry her, thank goodness she was still willing. Hubby then asked to carry her too and she willingly switched side, which is not the case normally. After spending more time bathing and changing her, she kind of got used to me being around again and kicked up a fuss when hubby wanted to leave for work and send her to the babysitter. After they left, I took a quick shower before going off to work! (Sigh!) How I wished I could take a day off to recuperate but it was not meant to be as I've got two meetings scheduled for the day.
I had planned to blog of my trip while in US but the trip turned out to be so hectic, due in part to my eagerness to spend every possible moment exploring the cities. And I would be so tired out by the end of the day to write anything. I'll try to update details of my trip over the next few days.
As I had some time after breakfast before arrival in Stockholm, I browsed through the inflight entertainment and found that the offerings were similar to those on the KL – LA flight. I managed to finish watching Madagascar, as well as one episode of Dharma & Greg. Shortly after, we descended into Stockholm and stopped there for about an hour.
Upon take-off, lunch was served and the starter was marinated skewered king prawns. I chose prawn and pineapple curry with rice as main course. Looks like shrimps has been a main feature of my meals for most of the flight! Dessert was by a fancy name of socher tarte, which looked and tasted like chocolate cake to me. After lunch, the plane crossed into a night time zone and I should catch some sleep as we would arrive in KL early in the morning. But since I wide awake, I caught up with some work on my laptop. As I glanced at the flight information and found that we were only six hours before arrival to KL, I quickly turned off my computer to get some rest.
My sleep was continually interrupted by the captain's announcement of fastening the seat belt every now and then as we hit turbulence, and before long, we were woken up for breakfast. I chose braised chicken with sweet chilli sauce with Chinese fried rice and stir fried mixed vegetables.
The plane touched down at KLIA on Monday, 12 March at 6.30am, 30 minutes ahead of schedule. After clearing immigration and collecting my luggage, I quickly boarded an airport limo home. Hubby was at the front door with Yiu Yiu to welcome me back but Yiu Yiu didn’t seem enthusiastic at all at seeing me. Not sure if it's because she's just woken up, or two weeks is just too long to be away from her. She seemed a little hesitant but when I extended my arms to carry her, thank goodness she was still willing. Hubby then asked to carry her too and she willingly switched side, which is not the case normally. After spending more time bathing and changing her, she kind of got used to me being around again and kicked up a fuss when hubby wanted to leave for work and send her to the babysitter. After they left, I took a quick shower before going off to work! (Sigh!) How I wished I could take a day off to recuperate but it was not meant to be as I've got two meetings scheduled for the day.
I had planned to blog of my trip while in US but the trip turned out to be so hectic, due in part to my eagerness to spend every possible moment exploring the cities. And I would be so tired out by the end of the day to write anything. I'll try to update details of my trip over the next few days.
March 02, 2007
16-month old
Yiu Yiu turned 16 months yesterday. Here's a snapshot of her development:
Physical: The last we weighed her was in early January when we were at the paed to give her the necessary jabs before leaving for Hanoi. She was only 7.6kg then. I'm not sure if she has gained any weight since then but she's still very petite for her age. She still only has four teeth, two upper and two lower. Another two on the upper and lower gums are clearly visible now. She's a bit slow in the teething department as her cousin, five months younger, already has eight teeth. Despite her petite frame, Yiu Yiu is quite strong. She could lift up a can of longan in syrup with just one hand. Here's a shot of her holding the can with both hands.
Mobility: Since taking her first few steps two months ago, she can now walk quite well, albeit still a little unsteady. She doesn't like us to hold her hands while she walks, and that poses a big problem especially when we are out shopping. Just the other day at Giant, there was such a big crowd as people were doing last minute shopping for Chinese New Year and this little champion walker refused to be held, and pushed away our hands each time we tried.
Comprehension: She can comprehend a lot more now, even long sentences such as when we asked her to sit down before giving her her biscuits or fruits. She also understands when we asks her to wear shoes, come here, stand up and walk walk, give to mummy, put back, shake hand and chong liang (bathe in Mandarin). She's also able to indicate if food offered to her is good, not by doing the thumbs up sign, but by sticking out her index finger. She recognizes familiar faces now and can point out people correctly such as ma ma, yeh yeh, po po, yi yi, ko ko, di di.
Language: Her vocabulary has increased a wee bit and among her repertoire of new words are (in Cantonese) po po (maternal grandmother) kai kai (going out), oi oi (sleep), tou tou (which is supposed to be kor tou, there) and cho cho (sit). And when she's asked, "Yiu Yiu mei bu mei (Is Yiu Yiu pretty in Mandarin), she'd answer softly "Mei". She has recently learnt to use "Oh oh" for exclamation whenever she drops anything. She can now say papa, mummy and bye bye clearly. She's also at a stage of learning new words rapidly. She will try to repeat after us simple words such as cat, dog, moon.
Feeding: She has yet to master self-feeding though she'd always demand to have her own set of bowl and spoon whenever we eat. And she's never contented just having an empty bowl; she just has to have something inside. Most time, we'll just scoop a little bit of rice of noodles and she'll be happily making a mess while we try to feed her. And she has developed this habit of just picking up pieces of food from her bowl with her hand whenever she can't scoop any with her spoon. Lately, it has been increasingly difficult to feed her, at least when she's with me. She'd take just a few mouthfuls and then clamp her mouth shut. Babysitter said she's OK while at her place. Maybe this little princess knows who she can bully. I get so frustrated and have thought of refusing to nurse her until 2 – 3 hours after a meal to teach her that if she skips a meal, she'll have to go hungry until her next meal, as some parenting books suggest. But I'm not sure if it's too early to use this method.
Social: She is getting a little more sociable, to the extent of waving bye-bye to strangers we passed by on the road. She now allows relatives whom she doesn't see often to carry her, unlike a couple of months ago where even my parents or parents-in-law were not able to come close. She's also an extremely generous child and will always offer a bite of her food to those around her. She has recently learnt how to plant a proper kiss by placing her lips against mine. When she was first asked to kiss kiss, she would extend her tongue out but later, she'd just extend her cheeks to be kissed. So I'm happy that I'll be receiving more kisses from my little darling.
Physical: The last we weighed her was in early January when we were at the paed to give her the necessary jabs before leaving for Hanoi. She was only 7.6kg then. I'm not sure if she has gained any weight since then but she's still very petite for her age. She still only has four teeth, two upper and two lower. Another two on the upper and lower gums are clearly visible now. She's a bit slow in the teething department as her cousin, five months younger, already has eight teeth. Despite her petite frame, Yiu Yiu is quite strong. She could lift up a can of longan in syrup with just one hand. Here's a shot of her holding the can with both hands.
Mobility: Since taking her first few steps two months ago, she can now walk quite well, albeit still a little unsteady. She doesn't like us to hold her hands while she walks, and that poses a big problem especially when we are out shopping. Just the other day at Giant, there was such a big crowd as people were doing last minute shopping for Chinese New Year and this little champion walker refused to be held, and pushed away our hands each time we tried.
Comprehension: She can comprehend a lot more now, even long sentences such as when we asked her to sit down before giving her her biscuits or fruits. She also understands when we asks her to wear shoes, come here, stand up and walk walk, give to mummy, put back, shake hand and chong liang (bathe in Mandarin). She's also able to indicate if food offered to her is good, not by doing the thumbs up sign, but by sticking out her index finger. She recognizes familiar faces now and can point out people correctly such as ma ma, yeh yeh, po po, yi yi, ko ko, di di.
Language: Her vocabulary has increased a wee bit and among her repertoire of new words are (in Cantonese) po po (maternal grandmother) kai kai (going out), oi oi (sleep), tou tou (which is supposed to be kor tou, there) and cho cho (sit). And when she's asked, "Yiu Yiu mei bu mei (Is Yiu Yiu pretty in Mandarin), she'd answer softly "Mei". She has recently learnt to use "Oh oh" for exclamation whenever she drops anything. She can now say papa, mummy and bye bye clearly. She's also at a stage of learning new words rapidly. She will try to repeat after us simple words such as cat, dog, moon.
Feeding: She has yet to master self-feeding though she'd always demand to have her own set of bowl and spoon whenever we eat. And she's never contented just having an empty bowl; she just has to have something inside. Most time, we'll just scoop a little bit of rice of noodles and she'll be happily making a mess while we try to feed her. And she has developed this habit of just picking up pieces of food from her bowl with her hand whenever she can't scoop any with her spoon. Lately, it has been increasingly difficult to feed her, at least when she's with me. She'd take just a few mouthfuls and then clamp her mouth shut. Babysitter said she's OK while at her place. Maybe this little princess knows who she can bully. I get so frustrated and have thought of refusing to nurse her until 2 – 3 hours after a meal to teach her that if she skips a meal, she'll have to go hungry until her next meal, as some parenting books suggest. But I'm not sure if it's too early to use this method.
Social: She is getting a little more sociable, to the extent of waving bye-bye to strangers we passed by on the road. She now allows relatives whom she doesn't see often to carry her, unlike a couple of months ago where even my parents or parents-in-law were not able to come close. She's also an extremely generous child and will always offer a bite of her food to those around her. She has recently learnt how to plant a proper kiss by placing her lips against mine. When she was first asked to kiss kiss, she would extend her tongue out but later, she'd just extend her cheeks to be kissed. So I'm happy that I'll be receiving more kisses from my little darling.
March 01, 2007
Orlando, finally
The flight bound for LA left KL on Feb 27 at 3.15pm. Not long after take-off, late lunch was served on board and I had MAS signature satay, followed by prawn salad as appetizer. The main course was roast venison Italian style served with brown sauce and mashed potatoes and I must say that fine dining thousands of feet above ground was really not too bad. I then settled in to catch up on some work on my laptop before watching Happy Feet on the inflight movie on demand. It must have been my first full movie since Yiu Yiu was born. Not long after that, the plane touched down in Taipei for a 1.5 hours stopover for re-fuelling. I've never been to Taipei, though it's in my list of places to visit, so it's kind of funny that my first encounter with Taipei was only confined to the transit lounge.
The plane took off from Taipei at 9.40pm and soon, it was makan time again. This time, it was roast breast duck with mango as appetizer followed by spicy chicken breast on pasta as the main course. I knocked off at about 11.30pm and was awoken by the cabin crew who were up and about serving brunch. When I looked at my watch, I was surprised to find that I've slept for almost seven hours. The best (or perhaps the worst) thing about long-haul flight is they feed you non-stop. This time, I opted for something oriental in the form of shrimp wantan in noodles. After brunch, it was time for some movies again but before I could finish watching Madagascar, the plane started its descent into LA and the inflight entertainment was turned off. We arrived at Tom Bradley International Airport at about 4.50pm, local time.
(An aerial view of LA on the plane's descent)
Clearing immigation, to my relief, was quick and simple. The officer simply asked me some questions regarding my trip to the USA, and tada…I was through. After collecting our luggage, my two senior (in rank, not age!) colleagues and I took the free shuttle bus to Terminal 7 where our connecting flight to Orlando will depart. The bus driver, a young African American was shaking his head to the tune of his MP3 player all the while we were in the bus. We had to hang around the airport for close to five hours as our flight to Orlando wasn't scheduled to depart till 10.40pm.
The 4.5 hours United Airline flight departed on time. I had wanted to catch some sleep as by the time we reach Orlando, it would be 6.10am in the morning but I didn't managed to as the cabin was pretty noisy. So by the time we reached Orlando, I was feeling very tired. Luckily baggage claim was speedy and we were whisked into the waiting van to transfer us to our hotel at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. But the time I got into my room, I was so thankful that my 27-hours journey was finally over and I've never felt so happy taking an early morning shower!
The plane took off from Taipei at 9.40pm and soon, it was makan time again. This time, it was roast breast duck with mango as appetizer followed by spicy chicken breast on pasta as the main course. I knocked off at about 11.30pm and was awoken by the cabin crew who were up and about serving brunch. When I looked at my watch, I was surprised to find that I've slept for almost seven hours. The best (or perhaps the worst) thing about long-haul flight is they feed you non-stop. This time, I opted for something oriental in the form of shrimp wantan in noodles. After brunch, it was time for some movies again but before I could finish watching Madagascar, the plane started its descent into LA and the inflight entertainment was turned off. We arrived at Tom Bradley International Airport at about 4.50pm, local time.
(An aerial view of LA on the plane's descent)
Clearing immigation, to my relief, was quick and simple. The officer simply asked me some questions regarding my trip to the USA, and tada…I was through. After collecting our luggage, my two senior (in rank, not age!) colleagues and I took the free shuttle bus to Terminal 7 where our connecting flight to Orlando will depart. The bus driver, a young African American was shaking his head to the tune of his MP3 player all the while we were in the bus. We had to hang around the airport for close to five hours as our flight to Orlando wasn't scheduled to depart till 10.40pm.
The 4.5 hours United Airline flight departed on time. I had wanted to catch some sleep as by the time we reach Orlando, it would be 6.10am in the morning but I didn't managed to as the cabin was pretty noisy. So by the time we reached Orlando, I was feeling very tired. Luckily baggage claim was speedy and we were whisked into the waiting van to transfer us to our hotel at Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. But the time I got into my room, I was so thankful that my 27-hours journey was finally over and I've never felt so happy taking an early morning shower!
February 27, 2007
US visa application
The process was quite simple and efficient. All I had to do was visit the embassy website, fill up the online form, make an appointment to the embassy online, make payment at any RHB bank, and get all my documentations ready.
My appointment was at 9.45am and by the time I got there, there was already a long queue. The guard admitted us into the embassy building in accordance to the appointment time, even though there were people ahead of me. Despite that, it still took me close to an hour in the queue before I was finally admitted into the building at 10.30am.
Visitors had to pass through a security scan and have their camera, mobile phone, keys, etc left at the entrance. I then walked over to the main consular building and waited for turn to be interviewed. The interview takes place over the counter and as most of the officers speak into the microphone, every conversation could actually be heard loud and clear. This, I thought, was rather intrusive and impersonal.
I waited for close to 45 minutes before my number was called and thankfully, the interview was painless enough. Having an official invitation letter from US headquarters and a confirmation of employment letter from HR no doubt made the process easier. My visa was approved but I was asked to apply for a new passport before the visa will be issued as there's a slight damage to the front page of my passport, where the cover has kind of separated into two pieces at the edge. The officer said this is to avoid me having any trouble while entering US as the immigration officers at US entry checkpoint may think that my passport is fraudulent.
I went to the Subang immigration office to apply for a new passport as advised, though I still have about three years validity with my current passport. The immigration however, refused to process my application as they do not deem my passport damaged! The officer suggested that I simply glue the cover back in place. I told them of the instruction given by the US embassy but the officer said that if I insist on applying for a new passport, they would have to lodge a case for investigation, as they deemed my passport as still valid. So there I was, caught in-between the requirement of the US embassy, and our local immigration regulations.
I then went back to the US embassy and related my experience at the immigration to them. The officer was understanding and proceeded to issue me a visa, but not before reiterating his warning that I should be prepared to face difficulties that may arise while entering US. My visa would be ready for collection the next day. I didn’t pick it up until just before the Chinese New Year holidays, as the counter is only open from 2 – 3 pm daily and I have been so bogged down with work. So I finally have my 10-year US visa and is now waiting to board my flight; I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that people at US immigration won't give me a hard time.
My appointment was at 9.45am and by the time I got there, there was already a long queue. The guard admitted us into the embassy building in accordance to the appointment time, even though there were people ahead of me. Despite that, it still took me close to an hour in the queue before I was finally admitted into the building at 10.30am.
Visitors had to pass through a security scan and have their camera, mobile phone, keys, etc left at the entrance. I then walked over to the main consular building and waited for turn to be interviewed. The interview takes place over the counter and as most of the officers speak into the microphone, every conversation could actually be heard loud and clear. This, I thought, was rather intrusive and impersonal.
I waited for close to 45 minutes before my number was called and thankfully, the interview was painless enough. Having an official invitation letter from US headquarters and a confirmation of employment letter from HR no doubt made the process easier. My visa was approved but I was asked to apply for a new passport before the visa will be issued as there's a slight damage to the front page of my passport, where the cover has kind of separated into two pieces at the edge. The officer said this is to avoid me having any trouble while entering US as the immigration officers at US entry checkpoint may think that my passport is fraudulent.
I went to the Subang immigration office to apply for a new passport as advised, though I still have about three years validity with my current passport. The immigration however, refused to process my application as they do not deem my passport damaged! The officer suggested that I simply glue the cover back in place. I told them of the instruction given by the US embassy but the officer said that if I insist on applying for a new passport, they would have to lodge a case for investigation, as they deemed my passport as still valid. So there I was, caught in-between the requirement of the US embassy, and our local immigration regulations.
I then went back to the US embassy and related my experience at the immigration to them. The officer was understanding and proceeded to issue me a visa, but not before reiterating his warning that I should be prepared to face difficulties that may arise while entering US. My visa would be ready for collection the next day. I didn’t pick it up until just before the Chinese New Year holidays, as the counter is only open from 2 – 3 pm daily and I have been so bogged down with work. So I finally have my 10-year US visa and is now waiting to board my flight; I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that people at US immigration won't give me a hard time.
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